Mushroom Pulav Recipe

Mushroom Pulav spiced up with green chillies and cinnamon makes a perfect one dish dinner that can be made under an hour. Mushroom as a vegetable might be a little bland and sometimes doesn’t please everyone’s taste buds. But with the right mix of spices and aromatics, this simple vegetable produces a dish quite scrumptious. All the flavours of the exotic spices infuse into the rice giving this pulav the perfect flavour.  Basmati rice, Water, Button mushrooms, Onion, Green Chilli, Cinnamon Stick (Dalchini), Ajwain (Carom seeds), Turmeric powder (Haldi), Cardamom (Elaichi) Pods/Seeds, Bay leaves (tej patta), Star anise, Coriander (Dhania) Leaves, Mint Leaves (Pudina), Ghee, Salt, Cashew nuts, Sultana Raisins, Onion   1 cup Basmati rice 2 cups Water 200 grams Button mushrooms , thinly sliced  1 Onion , finely chopped 1 Green Chilli , slit lengthwise 1 inch Cinnamon Stick (Dalchini) 1 teaspoon Ajwain (Carom seeds) 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder (Haldi) 3 Cardamom (Elaichi) Pods/Seeds 1 Bay leaves (tej patta) 1 Star anise 5 tablespoons Coriander (Dhania) Leaves , finely chopped  3 tablespoons Mint Leaves (Pudina) , finely chopped 2 tablespoons Ghee Salt , to taste For garnishing 10 Cashew nuts , roasted in ghee 10 Sultana Raisins , sauteed in ghee 1 Onion , finely sliced     15   45     To begin making the Mushroom Pulav recipe, wash and soak basmati rice in water for 1/2 an hour. Drain and keep aside.Heat ghee in a pressure cooker or sauce pan on medium heat. Once hot, add the caraway seeds and saute for a few seconds. Add chopped onions, green chilli and cinnamon stick and saute till onion turns golden brown.Now add the sliced mushroom along with turmeric and salt and saute till the mushrooms turn glossy and reduce in quantity. Mushrooms release a lot of water when cooked, so saute until the water evaporates.Add the cardamom, cloves, star anise and bay leaves and saute for a few minutes. Now add the basmati rice and stir constantly on a medium flame for 5 minutes till the rice turns glossy and starts crackling.Add the 2 cups of water and check for salt. (add more salt if necessary). Add chopped coriander and mint leaves.Cover the pan and once the mixture comes to a boil, turn the heat to low and simmer until all the water is absorbed. Turn off the heat and allow the rice to rest for about 5 minutes before opening.Heat ghee in a small pan; add the onion and saute until caremelized.Separate the rice with a fork without pressing it too much. Garnish with caremelized onions and roasted cashew and raisins. Serve Mushroom Pulav along with Boondi raita for a weekday lunch or dinner.